News linked to this event type.
Odaily News: Cantor Fitzgerald has announced that it will open access to the prediction market platform Kalshi for institutional investors, providing event contract trading services to its approximately 3,000 institutional clients, including family offices and hedge funds.According to The Wall Street Journal, Cantor Fitzgerald will act as a broker arranging block trades for institutional clients, enabling them to participate in "yes/no" contract trading based on real-world event outcomes offered by Kalshi. The trading instruments cover multiple areas, including weather forecasts, commodity price trends, and corporate performance.This partnership marks the further entry of traditional financial institutions into the prediction market space. Kalshi is an event trading platform regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where users can bet via contracts on whether specific events will occur, such as economic data releases, policy changes, weather conditions, and business events.In recent years, prediction markets have drawn attention from investors, with proponents arguing that they can reflect collective expectations through market prices and provide risk hedging tools for businesses and investment institutions. However, regulators and some market participants have also continued to scrutinize the boundary between these markets and gambling. (WSJ)
Odaily News: Edward Zimbardi, a 59-year-old Georgia resident, appeared in U.S. federal court facing 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Fiji authorities handed him over to U.S. custody on August 14, in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. State Department.Prosecutors allege that Zimbardi operated a project called "The Crypto Program" from June 2022 to August 2023, luring participants with promises of a fixed 25% monthly return on advertising packages, requiring them to transfer cryptocurrency into wallets he secretly controlled. The government claims that thousands of individuals collectively transferred over $165 million into these wallets. Prosecutors stated that Zimbardi did not purchase advertising but instead funneled more than $34 million into high-risk forex trading, using funds from new investors to pay earlier ones. His personal spending totaled at least $10 million, including purchasing property for his son, buying luxury cars, and making alimony payments.The U.S. Department of Justice stated that after the project collapsed in August 2023, Zimbardi left the country and settled in Fiji in July 2025 upon learning of the FBI investigation. The FBI is urging affected investors to come forward with information. (Decrypt)
According to Cointelegraph, Nexo Australia announced the launch of a regulated crypto-backed credit line, allowing eligible users to pledge digital assets as collateral to borrow Australian dollars or stablecoins without selling their held crypto assets. The service typically disburses funds within 24 hours, supports flexible repayment, has no fixed terms or disbursement fees, and interest rates range from 0.9% to 21.9%.
According to The Business Times, Vietnam is advancing a pilot for a regulated cryptocurrency market, with the first batch of local digital asset trading platforms potentially launching as early as the third quarter of 2026. Previously, due to strategic deficiencies in anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and counter-proliferation financing, Vietnam was placed on the grey list by the Financial Action Task Force in June 2023 and has missed the rectification deadline.
According to Forbes, the state of Florida has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that its generative AI and large language models (LLMs) pose a threat to public health and safety, constituting a "public nuisance" in the legal sense. The state likened AI chatbots to polluting factories, arguing that they cause psychological harm to the public, provide uncertified advice, and disrupt public order. Florida is seeking substantial monetary damages and injunctive relief.
According to TechFlow Research, Nomura Securities' initiation report on August 19 indicated that Unitree Robotics is the company with the highest shipment volume of humanoid robots globally, with pure humanoid robot shipments exceeding 5,500 units in 2025, far surpassing peers, and is one of the few embodied AI companies globally to achieve profitability. Nomura issued a Buy rating and a target price of 370 yuan, representing 145% upside potential compared to the current stock price of 151 yuan. The company's core moat is full-stack self-developed hardware, compressing the cost of outsourced components to 14% to 18% of total costs. The gross margin of main operations rose from 44% in 2022 to 60% in 2025, with adjusted net profit reaching 590 million yuan (net profit margin approximately 35%). Nomura predicts revenue from 2026 to 2028 will reach 2.69 billion, 5.4 billion, and 13.18 billion yuan respectively, with year-over-year growth of 58%, 101%, and 144%. The research report judges that Unitree's product iteration speed and full-matrix layout constitute a first-mover advantage, covering the complete tech stack of "Mobility + Manipulation + Interaction" from quadruped robots to humanoid robots. However, the US FCC restricted list poses the biggest policy risk. In July 2026, the FCC will include foreign-produced advanced robot equipment in the restricted list. Unitree's models currently on sale have been authorized to continue sales, but new models will be prohibited from entering the US market. Nomura believes this risk is structural, and compliance paths are almost infeasible. The target price corresponds to 145% upside potential, with catalysts including the implementation of self-developed world models and the volume ramp-up of new products such as R1/H2.
Odaily News: South Korea's venture capital investment reached 8.87 trillion KRW in the first half of this year, setting a new all-time high. Policy financing contributions increased 58.3% year-on-year, while the private sector grew 28.1%, with private funds accounting for over 80% of total venture capital fund commitments. Among them, private financial institutions such as banks contributed 2.61 trillion KRW, up 54.9% year-on-year. The risk weight (RW) for policy-oriented venture capital funds has been reduced from 400% to 100%, thereby lowering the capital burden on financial companies. AI solutions, AI chips, memory chips, and humanoid robots have emerged as new investment destinations, with ICT manufacturing investment surging 143.3% year-on-year and electrical, machinery, and equipment investment rising 90.4%. Companies established within the last three years received 1.83 trillion KRW in investments, up 56.4% year-on-year, while non-capital region investments increased 104.7%. The gaming sector was the only industry to see a decline in investment, with a reduction in large-scale projects and a drop in new business formations cited as the main reasons. The VC industry noted that the KOSDAQ IPO market has not sufficiently absorbed investment exits, and South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to expand support for M&A and secondary share funds. (ETNews Electronics)
Odaily News: Cryptocurrency platform Bitcoin.com has announced the integration of USDU into its self-custody Bitcoin.com Wallet, serving millions of wallet users. USDU, issued by Universal Digital Intl Limited (Universal), is the first USD stablecoin registered as a foreign payment token by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). USDU is an Ethereum ERC-20 token, with each token backed 1:1 by liquid USD reserves held by regulated banks in the UAE. The reserves are independently attested monthly by a third-party accounting firm, with reports published on Universal's official website. Bitcoin.com Wallet's web and mobile versions will support self-custody holding, sending, and receiving of USDU. Bitcoin.com will accept USDU as payment for designated services and plans to enable its use for payments between users and merchants within its products. The wallet will also offer stablecoin education and Learn-to-Earn content. Exchange and buy/sell functionalities will be launched after support from third-party service providers, with availability varying by jurisdiction. (Bitcoin.com News)
According to CoinDesk, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated Tuesday at the SALT conference held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that the U.S. Congress must pass the CLARITY Act as soon as possible, otherwise the United States will continue to lag behind markets such as Europe in crypto regulation. Cuomo noted that long-term regulatory uncertainty has made it difficult for enterprises to conduct business compliantly in the United States. If Congress delays legislation, regulatory rules will change frequently with political power shifts, which is unfavorable for long-term industry planning. Currently, the CLARITY Act has not yet passed the Senate due to disagreements such as Democrats demanding strengthened ethics clauses. Majority Leader Thune has arranged for an immediate procedural vote after the Senate recess ends.
Odaily News: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins introduced the "Regulation Crypto Assets" proposal on August 18, covering issuance pathways, disclosure obligations, and safe harbor conditions. Atkins stated that tailored exemptions could attract crypto issuers and investment back to the United States while preserving core investor protections, and expressed support for Congress's push for the CLARITY Act. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce noted that the proposal was developed through public comment and staff engagement, with feedback from both industry supporters and critics shaping the framework's design. SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda pointed out that fixed thresholds and disclosure obligations could enhance issuers' compliance expectations; the proposal has not yet taken effect. (Bitcoin.com News)
GSR Chief Legal and Strategy Officer Joshua Riezman shared his views on X regarding the U.S. SEC's latest proposed regulatory framework for crypto assets, stating that the proposal may not achieve what many market participants currently understand. Without amendments to relevant U.S. laws, the regulatory exemptions provided by the SEC under existing securities laws remain limited.He noted that clearer regulatory rules are positive for the crypto industry, but the market structure addressed by the proposal differs significantly from the previous crypto market cycle. The industry needs to further understand what form the new framework will ultimately guide the U.S. crypto market toward.
Odaily News, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev posted on X platform stating that the world is in the early stages of a "tokenization supercycle." The significance of tokenization is not simply moving stocks onto the blockchain, but rather rebuilding the infrastructure for asset ownership, enabling assets to flow as freely as information on the internet.Tenev stated that within just over a month of its launch, Robinhood Chain has completed 100 million transactions. Its Stock Tokens have provided users in over 120 countries with economic exposure to more than 190 U.S. stocks, backed 1:1 by the underlying shares, but are not yet available to U.S. users. He believes that as the regulatory framework gradually matures, we expect token design to continue evolving, including the emergence of tokenized equity that carries the full rights of traditional stocks in the future.At the end of his post, he urged the U.S. regulatory framework to accelerate its adaptation to the tokenized market and stated that listed stocks are just the starting point. Assets with more restricted liquidity and access, such as equity in private companies, could become an important direction in the next phase.
According to the SEC official website, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission formally proposed the new rule "Regulation Crypto Assets" on August 18, 2026, aiming to create a dedicated securities offering framework for investment contracts involving crypto assets. The specific content includes two registration exemptions: first, a single fundraising cap of $5 million within four years; second, a fundraising cap of $75 million every 12 months (requiring financial statements and continuous information disclosure). Additionally, the rules also establish conditional safe harbor provisions, under which crypto assets meeting the conditions will not be deemed securities under "investment contracts". SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins stated that this move aims to provide compliant financing paths for crypto entrepreneurs, reduce the motivation for projects to operate offshore, and expand participation opportunities for U.S. investors. The proposal will be open for a 60-day public comment period after publication in the Federal Register.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev urges U.S. regulators to establish a clear framework for tokenized stocks, stating that overseas markets have already moved ahead and U.S. investors face the risk of falling behind.
Odaily News - Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine stated that the window for the Clarity Act to pass before the November midterm elections is closing rapidly. Speaking at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2026, he estimated that the probability of the bill becoming law before the midterms is only about 10%.Whitehouse-Levine described the bill as currently being in "August recess purgatory." He noted that the Senate has been working on the legislation for over a year, but as time in the current Congress runs out, completing the legislative process is becoming increasingly difficult.He added that the procedural motion scheduled for September 15 is only the first step in a series of votes needed to move the bill forward, so he remains "hopeful, but realistic about the odds."This assessment is more pessimistic than that of prediction markets. Polymarket currently shows a 21% probability of the Clarity Act being signed into law by year-end, with trading volume exceeding $7 million on the relevant market; Kalshi puts the probability at 23%, down from 50% less than a month ago.
According to Odaily, Patrick Witt, the White House's chief crypto advisor, stated that despite ongoing controversies surrounding stablecoin yields and conflicts of interest involving Trump's crypto holdings, he remains optimistic that the Clarity Act will ultimately become law.Speaking at the SALT annual conference in Wyoming on Tuesday, Witt noted that lawmakers are currently in the August recess and are expected to return to Washington in mid-September. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has scheduled a procedural vote on the bill for September 15.Witt said the White House will sit down with Democrats to discuss points of disagreement and work to secure solid votes by September 15. He expressed that he is "genuinely optimistic and bullish" on the bill.The Clarity Act, spanning over 600 pages, aims to establish a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for the U.S. crypto industry, but has faced multiple setbacks over the past few months. Key disputes currently include how to treat stablecoin yields, as well as Democratic concerns over conflicts of interest involving Trump and his family's crypto business ventures.Overall, the September 15 vote will be a critical juncture for whether the Clarity Act can continue to advance. While the White House is attempting to send positive signals, the bill still requires bipartisan support, particularly in reaching compromises on issues such as stablecoins, ethics provisions, and regulatory division of labor.
Odaily News, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty stated that September 15 will be a key date for determining whether the U.S. "Clarity Act" crypto market structure bill can continue to advance.Alderoty said at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2026 that the Senate will hold its first procedural motion on September 15, namely whether to enter deliberation. The motion requires 60 votes of support to open the door for the bill's subsequent progress. He noted that this day will serve as a "barometer" for judging whether the Clarity Act can still move forward in Congress.Alderoty also serves as Chairman of the National Crypto Association. He stated that even if market structure legislation hits a roadblock, both the SEC and CFTC have publicly stated that they will continue to advance crypto regulatory rulemaking.He believes that the two regulatory agencies' closer coordination in recent times is a positive signal. In the past, the SEC and CFTC did not always work collaboratively, but now both sides are engaging in closer cooperation around crypto asset regulation.However, Alderoty emphasized that what the industry most hopes to see remains congressional legislation, because legislation is more stable than mere regulatory rules and harder to overturn. He stated that regardless of the outcome, the U.S. will see crypto regulation; the difference lies in whether the framework is established through a more enduring congressional bill or advanced by regulators acting alone.
Odaily News: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed rules related to crypto assets, aiming to establish a clear framework for eligible investment contracts and provide a targeted securities offering regime for token issuances, enabling related entities to raise funds while retaining investor protection measures. The proposed rules would allow crypto companies to issue up to $5 million in tokens over four years, or up to $75 million in tokens within 12 months, and provide a safe harbor to prevent cryptocurrencies from being deemed "investment contracts." Issuers would be required to disclose financial statements and provide ongoing reporting. The SEC did not include the previously anticipated "innovation exemption" for crypto stocks. The proposal comes just days after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act; the public will have 60 days to submit comments after the proposal is published in the Federal Register. SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated that congressional legislation remains essential for establishing rules that can be applied over the long term, and the SEC will continue to support Congress in advancing the CLARITY Act to President Trump. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) plans to discuss cryptocurrency, AI, and prediction market regulation on Thursday. (Cointelegraph)
The U.S. SEC proposed new crypto regulations after the CLARITY Act was stalled, providing a safe harbor for token issuance and an exemption threshold of up to $75 million.
Odaily News: Brian Armstrong posted on X platform, expressing appreciation for the progress made by Paul S. Atkins and the SEC on token classification, calling it a long-awaited step toward modernizing the financial system. He stated that he has been calling for clear cryptocurrency rules for years, and that token classification is precisely the measure the U.S. needs to maintain innovation. Brian Armstrong also said he looks forward to the SEC issuing the Innovation Exemption to promote on-chain trading of tokenized stocks. He noted that relevant progress is underway and that the CLARITY Act should be pushed forward and passed as soon as possible, moving the market on-chain before other regions take the lead.